WWF Wrestlemania Arcade Walkthrought
Firing up Sega’s arcade-style WrestleMania — yep, WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game. Around here it was the “Arcade WrestleMania” or just “WrestleMania on Sega.” The ladder’s straightforward: solo bouts, then 2-on-1, then 3-on-1. No pins — you win by draining health bars. For a clean warm-up, start on Intercontinental to “feel the ropes,” then jump into WWF Championship. As we wrote in /gameplay/, it’s arcade-fair: the only “cheat” is your own impatience. Now, step by step.
Early matches: lock down mid-screen
Pick someone with straight, no-fuss strings — Shawn Michaels (HBK) and the Superkick, Razor Ramon with heavy hits, Bret “Hitman” Hart with crisp, tight combos. First fight isn’t about flash, it’s about rhythm. Double-tap to run, hold back to block. Let the CPU whiff a heavy, then jab-jab into uppercut. Off a rope bounce, add a run-in shoulder to safely reset to center. Don’t get stuck in the corner: the AI loves corner pressure and it’s a pain to escape.
Follow the formula: knockdown — half-step back — greet the wake-up with a single poke, then restart your string. Don’t jump without a reason: the CPU anti-airs most hops on reaction. If you catch a slide, tag the body immediately and disengage. In the early bracket this yields near-perfect wins.
2-on-1 and 3-on-1: keep the lane
When the 2-on-1s kick in, it turns into a mini–Survivor Series. The trick is to line them up. Approach so one stands right behind the other: hit the front man to clip both, then run through, quick turn, and re-string. If they pinch you from both sides, sprint-roll through one, instant block, and whiff-punish. To exit the corner, use the rope bounce: as soon as you touch, dash out and shoulder through to open a “corridor.”
In 3-on-1 the tempo’s the same, but avoid long routes — extended strings get tagged from the back. Keep it tight: two hits — uppercut — step away. Always keep both edges in frame: the game loves teleports and sudden backdashes behind you, especially from The Undertaker.
Matchups: what actually works
Doink the Clown. Loves trading, sneaks in that shock slap and random mallet. Bait the whiff: half-step in — block — instant low kick. After a knockdown don’t hover point-blank: his wake-ups are nasty. Best plan: dash to close space and chop the legs, then uppercut and back off.
Yokozuna. Slow, but terrifying at the wall. Never stay cornered: lure him mid-screen, run diagonal circles, and punish after a missed belly flop or shoulder. Hit-and-run shines here: one or two touches, then reset. Don’t toss him into the ropes — his rebound is meaty and he’ll stuff you.
Shawn Michaels. Fast and loves trading into Superkick. Don’t jump at him. Play off the jab: short poke, micro-pause, another poke, then a brief string. If you start a long combo, expect him to flip out on the last hit — keep your routes compact.
Bret “Hitman” Hart. Patient counter player — punishes greed. Make him whiff a strong, then body-body-body + uppercut. Don’t overextend in the corner — tap the brakes, step back, and reinitiate neutral mid-screen.
Razor Ramon. Leans on power pressure. The recipe: meet him with an uppercut and clip his run-in with a slide. After a knockdown, don’t crowd — he loves wake-up shoulder. Re-enter on a diagonal and tag the legs.
Lex Luger. That “steel” forearm on the dash is deadly. Feign weakness: half-step in, let him swing, block, then cash out a short string on the recoil. Never pound his guard more than twice — he’ll buffer the forearm between hits.
Bam Bam Bigelow. Jumps and breathes fire. Anti-airs win: meet the jump with an uppercut and immediately run forward so the second arc won’t clip you. On his stand-up, shoulder toss him back to center.
The Undertaker. The slipperiest of the bunch: teleports, spirits, the urn — you know the drill. Hold mid-screen. See the flicker? Prime the uppercut and greet the materialize. Never overcommit on him — he pops out of strings and reversals more than anyone. Stick to a 2+1 rhythm: two lights — pause — one heavy — disengage. If he starts “ghost” pressure, leave on a diagonal; don’t turtle in place or you’ll eat chip.
Final stretch in the WWF Championship
Right before the belt you’ll eat a lot of 2-on-1 and 3-on-1. Don’t tunnel on finishing one guy — spread damage so the other can’t backstab for free. Work like a pendulum: string the left — step — string the right — dash through center. When two health bars glow red, close safely with single run-ins into shoulder. In the last fight, hug the center: in triple bouts, ropes are a trap — rebounds get you from both sides.
Tag Team and couch Survivor Series
In Tag, play it like a carousel: score a knockdown, slide half a screen, and intercept the partner. Don’t let the CPU buddy loiter — bump him with a shoulder and keep your lane. Survivor Series demands patience: no hero plays, just short entries and corner control. This is where tidy 3–4-hit “arcade combos” shine with minimal risk.
Handy details and arcade tricks
On Sega, A/B/C mapped to strikes are perfect for “ping-pong”: left — right — high. Drill one universal entry: run — light — light — uppercut. That alone clears Intercontinental and the title ladder. Always respect rope bounces: if the opponent sails back, meet them with an uppercut for free advantage. Only leave the corner on a dash: step — dash — turn — hit. In triple fights, don’t get greedy on finishers — better to reset the pace and keep the rhythm.
If the AI starts “reading” inputs, change cadence — delay your second hit a split-second to break its auto-counters. And hey: the arenas feel “alive” — in Arcade WrestleMania the crowd cues when to press and when to chill. Not magic, just the rhythm we talked about in /history/ and /gameplay/. Make it muscle memory and WWF WrestleMania on Sega stops being a coin flip and turns into a steady march to the belt.